Shetland Animal Health Scheme

There has been a change to the Shetland Sheep Scab Regulations.  From the 1st of July 2024 treatment of scab by plunge dipping will be included in the Shetland Sheep Scab Regulations. 

Due to the increased frequency of sheep scab mites resistant to injectable products the Shetland Vets are primarily planning to use plunge dipping as it is the most effective treatment to prevent sheep scab from entering Shetland.

• From the 1st of July 2024, the vets will designate sheep dipping as the treatment for sheep scab on import to Shetland.
• Once you have booked in your sheep at the pier please get in contact with Brendon Smith at 07501 924820 to arrange dipping.
• The vet will evaluate the sheep at the pier and either the vet or the pier staff will let you know if your sheep is unable to go through the dipper.
• Consolidated days are available on the Shetland Animal Health Scheme website.  Picking your sheep up promptly helps keep the cost of dipping down for everyone. 
• If your sheep has already been dipped please submit a dipping certificate to dippingcert@shetland.gov.uk.   If your sheep has been treated with a levamisole drench in the 14 days prior to import please get in contact with the Shetland Vets. 
• Lets Keep Shetland Sheep Scab Free

SLMG Dipping Facility

The SLMG dipping facility is available for anyone who has imported sheep to Shetland.  The charges are currently £30 plus VAT per sheep.  The added charge for dipping sheep on a non-consolidated day will be £150 plus VAT.  Information about the consolidated days can be found in the right hand panel of this page.

We recommend picking your sheep up from the pier in the morning to help keep the costs of dipping down.  The less delay in getting sheep to the Staney Hill and dipped, the less time the dipping crew has to be at the Staney Hill.  We recommend communicating with the pier and vet staff to find the best time to collect your sheep.  This is a community effort and only works if everyone works together. 

Dipping Certificates

For importers who have dipped their sheep in the 30 days prior to import we have the ‘Pre-Import Dipping Form’.  This form is to be filled out by the licensed dipping contractor who has dipped the sheep and should be returned by email to dippingcert@shetland.gov.uk  at least 3 days prior to import. This will update the vets and dipping crew that your sheep have already been dipped.  We do not recommend shipping sheep that have been dipped same day as shipping owing to safety issues with wet product.  The form is available in the right hand panel of this page.

We consider importing sheep with dipping certificates to be high risk.  As cases of sheep scab on the mainland increase the need to have sheep correctly treated is becoming more important.  Many different factors can affect the effectiveness of sheep dipping including weather.  If dipping has been ineffective, animals particularly towards the end of the dipping window may have become re-infected with sheep scab before importation.  If you are importing sheep with a dipping certificate, we recommend a strict isolation plan for these animals.   To give you more information about the sheep scab status of these animals we will be running the sheep scab ELISA test on their import bloods.

Safety Precaution

Sheep should not be dipped within 14 days of being dipped previously or within 14 days of receiving a drench containing levamisole.  Please notify Shetland vets prior to shipping if any sheep being imported have received these treatment within 14 days of shipping.  Further information about sheep dip can be found here

Other Info

Sheep imported to Shetland will be treated with an injectable product before entry to Shetland, this is to protect against the introduction of anthelmintic worms and new types of worms for example haemonchus.